Some Secrets
​paintings by Michael Pearce   ​

​Opening Reception: Friday, February 10, 2023, 5:30-7:30pm | Free and Open to the Public 
Special Lecture Following Reception: “The Esoteric Art of John Augustus Knapp” | Friday, February 10, 2023, 7:00-9:00pm | In-Person and Zoom Attendance Available | WATCH HERE
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The Philosophical Research Society (PRS) is pleased to present a solo exhibition of paintings by artist and art critic, Michael Pearce. Some Secrets features large-scale paintings inspired by Pearce’s enduring interest in the iconography of the tarot and alchemical transformations of tarot’s personified imagery across time, from ancient symbols and medieval emblems through present-day icons, fashions, and technologies. 
As arts and culture writer, Penny Snyder writes:
"The personification of death, icons from tarot cards, alchemical rules, travelers, harlequins and more intermingle in the fantastical world of Michael Pearce’s larger-than-life oil paintings.
Often set in mythic landscapes of craggy mountaintops or impassable bodies of water, Pearce’s works tie together an incredibly rich group of symbols and stories in an exploration of the universal truths of human existence.
Pearce engages wholeheartedly with contemporary themes, drawing from a well of pop culture— figures wear jeans and T-shirts and play on their cellphones, characters inspired by David Bowie and Marilyn Manson make appearances and Harry Potter even figures into the mix.
Pearce’s long-standing interest in the iconography of tarot is a consistent theme. Although it is now most closely associated with fortune-telling, many of its symbols originate from European emblem books dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, which featured allegorical images that offered moral instruction."
- Penny Snyder, okgazette.com

​Michael Pearce is a dynamic writer, exhibit curator, and art critic. He is an active and enthusiastic participant in the conversation about 21st century art and its roots, especially contemporary imaginative realism. He has published dozens of articles about art and artists, and wrote a book about art and neuroscience titled Art in the Age of Emergence. He is a champion of art that emerges from popular culture and shapes the spirit of the age. His book Kitsch, Propaganda and the American Avant-garde - the story of the invention of the American avant-garde - will be published later this year. He is Professor of Art at California Lutheran University.